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CILIP BAME Network Inaugural Meeting

By ucylcli, on 11 October 2019

I attended the CILIP BAME Network inaugural meeting on 12 September 2019. The event took place on UCL’s Bloomsbury campus and it was nice to see some UCL colleagues as well as bumping into a few familiar faces from other institutions.

The event began in earnest with an opening address from CILIP CEO Nick Poole followed by one from Shirley Yearwood-Jackman, chair of the newly formed CILIP BAME Network. She spoke passionately of her aspirations for this event and for the Network going forward. The meeting was then made up of a number of sessions.

Regina Everitt, Director of UEL Libraries and Learning Services, spoke about the findings of a SCONUL research report regarding the experiences of BAME staff in academic libraries.

Paul Byfield, Legal Knowledge Manager at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, advocated for social capital, professional networking and initiatives to promote work sectors where BAME staff are under-represented.

Emily Drabble, Head of Awards and Promotion at BookTrust Represents, discussed how this project is promoting BAME children’s authors and illustrators.

Marilyn Clarke, Head of Discovery Services at Goldsmiths College, talked about liberating the library and diversifying library collections. The idea is to challenge non-inclusive structures in knowledge management and their impact on library collections, users and services.

Ruth D’Rozario, at publishing group Hachette UK, explained how she set up a network for BAME staff in order to bring people together and build cultural awareness.

Refreshments were available throughout the meeting and the breaks in-between talks provided opportunities to network with other delegates at the event. Overall, this was an excellent forum to exchange knowledge and experiences with colleagues from different regions and sectors, hear from leading BAME influencers and learn more about the work of the BAME Network.

More details about the CILIP BAME Network and future events can be found at: https://www.cilip.org.uk/page/BAMENetwork